Hand Placement on Bar, possible neurological issue?

[Particular_Perkins]

Hello!

I’m not too sure of the appropriate forum topic to post this under, so forgive me if this scenario should go to another topic. I have a question regarding my hand placement on the barbell, which when done incorrectly is affecting 3 out of 4 of my main lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, press).

I typically hold the bar a little higher in my hands than directly over my forearm, so I tend to have a small amount of wrist extension when pressing or bench pressing (for examples sake, the amount of extension is about 5-8 degrees, very minimal). I also place the bar in my hand across the meat of my palm, so the bar is not perpendicular with my forearm, but slightly askew (think “Bulldog” grip, but with fingers around the bar). My right hand works correctly, and fits snugly into position, grips the bar tightly, and does not move. It feels natural and “strong.” My left hand is where the problem occurs. When trying to get into proper grip position, my left hand refuses to coordinate symmetrically. When trying to get into proper hand placement, my left hand does not hold the bar snugly on the meat of my palm, nor does my hand stay locked into position throughout the entirety of the lift. My left hand begins to slip, and eventually ends up being completely perpendicular with the bar. My right hand is still locked into place, holding the bar tightly.

I have tried to move the bar positioning in my hand to remedy this, but my left hand refuses to cooperate. The mostly affects my pressing and bench pressing, however I have noticed that I do not have a symmetrical loading of the bar on my back when squatting. My right hand can hold the bar firmly (I use thumbs around grip) and trap the bar against my upper back, with no pain, with the bar usually resting against the heel of my palm. My left hand is at a weird angle, so the loading “feels” off, and my hand continually loses positioning, causing the bar to roll on my back when I complete a rep. I had a PT give me his professional opinion (he is strength training biased, he promotes lifting heavy things for all of his clients), and his opinion was that something neurological was going on with my spine, which was affecting how my left hand was functioning. He recommended doing some thoracic mobility work to help solve the problem. A basic example would be bending at the waist and rotating so my chest is pointing to the left/right with arms out stretched, basically to form the letter “h” (if viewed from the side).

I know it is quite a lengthy read, it is something that has persisted for some time (close to a year). I do not feel any pain, but it is very uncomfortable during the working sets of my training. Do you have any thoughts as to if it sounds like something neurological?

Thank you for your assistance! If you need me to explain anything further, please let me know!

-Jordan
@Particular_Perkins

[Michael_Ray]

@Particular_Perkins

Hello!

I’m not too sure of the appropriate forum topic to post this under, so forgive me if this scenario should go to another topic. I have a question regarding my hand placement on the barbell, which when done incorrectly is affecting 3 out of 4 of my main lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, press).

I typically hold the bar a little higher in my hands than directly over my forearm, so I tend to have a small amount of wrist extension when pressing or bench pressing (for examples sake, the amount of extension is about 5-8 degrees, very minimal). I also place the bar in my hand across the meat of my palm, so the bar is not perpendicular with my forearm, but slightly askew (think “Bulldog” grip, but with fingers around the bar). My right hand works correctly, and fits snugly into position, grips the bar tightly, and does not move. It feels natural and “strong.” My left hand is where the problem occurs. When trying to get into proper grip position, my left hand refuses to coordinate symmetrically. When trying to get into proper hand placement, my left hand does not hold the bar snugly on the meat of my palm, nor does my hand stay locked into position throughout the entirety of the lift. My left hand begins to slip, and eventually ends up being completely perpendicular with the bar. My right hand is still locked into place, holding the bar tightly.

I have tried to move the bar positioning in my hand to remedy this, but my left hand refuses to cooperate. The mostly affects my pressing and bench pressing, however I have noticed that I do not have a symmetrical loading of the bar on my back when squatting. My right hand can hold the bar firmly (I use thumbs around grip) and trap the bar against my upper back, with no pain, with the bar usually resting against the heel of my palm. My left hand is at a weird angle, so the loading “feels” off, and my hand continually loses positioning, causing the bar to roll on my back when I complete a rep. I had a PT give me his professional opinion (he is strength training biased, he promotes lifting heavy things for all of his clients), and his opinion was that something neurological was going on with my spine, which was affecting how my left hand was functioning. He recommended doing some thoracic mobility work to help solve the problem. A basic example would be bending at the waist and rotating so my chest is pointing to the left/right with arms out stretched, basically to form the letter “h” (if viewed from the side).

I know it is quite a lengthy read, it is something that has persisted for some time (close to a year). I do not feel any pain, but it is very uncomfortable during the working sets of my training. Do you have any thoughts as to if it sounds like something neurological?

Thank you for your assistance! If you need me to explain anything further, please let me know!

-Jordan
@Particular_Perkins

Hey Jordan,

Sorry to hear about this issue. I’d recommend posting video(s) to the Facebook group for form check and perhaps we can offer insight. Also - although this is going to be easier said than done, I’d try to minimize hyper-vigilance to this too much. I think it’s important to find comfortable positions you can improve performance (objectively measured via weight being lifted) but we also don’t want to jump down too many biomechanics rabbit-holes unnecessarily. Not saying that’s what you are doing.

Also - “and his opinion was that something neurological was going on with my spine, which was affecting how my left hand was functioning. He recommended doing some thoracic mobility work to help solve the problem. A basic example would be bending at the waist and rotating so my chest is pointing to the left/right with arms out stretched, basically to form the letter “h” (if viewed from the side).” This sounds like pseudoscientific BS and I’d forget this altogether.